Join us in this episode as we engage with Dr. Budson in discussing the evolution and complex roles of consciousness and memory. There is often a mix-up between why consciousness developed and the additional roles it has adopted over continued evolution. Dr. Budson proposes that consciousness originally evolved as part of the episodic memory system, likely to enable the flexible combination and rearrangement of past events to plan for the future. Over time, consciousness has been co-opted to fulfill other non-memory-related functions such as problem-solving, abstract thinking, and language. This theory, Dr. Budson argues, aligns with several phenomena, like the slow speed and the retrospective nature of consciousness, that other theories struggle to explain. Understanding this could have profound implications for our comprehension of intentional action and consciousness in general. Furthermore, Dr. Budson suggests that the systems of episodic, sensory, working, and semantic memory should collectively be viewed as the conscious memory system since they jointly contribute to the phenomenon of consciousness. He also contends that every cortical region of the brain contributes to this conscious memory system. Tune in as we dissect these intriguing perspectives and their potential impact on our understanding of consciousness.

Key Words: Consciousness, memory, episodic memory, evolution, flexible recombination of information, problem-solving, abstract thinking, language, intentional action, sensory memory, working memory, semantic memory, conscious memory system, cerebral cortex.

Consciousness as a Memory System Budson, Andrew E. MD*, Richman, Kenneth A. PhD; Kensinger, Elizabeth A. PhD Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology: doi: 10.1097/WNN.0000000000000319